by the way, ambassador romero, it is great to see you in so many other friends. i am very proud to be here. the first latino and a democratic administration in this position, and the first political appointee in the bureau of western hemispheric affairs and a democratic government since 1958. where do we stand? let me give you a little background. i want to say that first that i see the situation in latin america as the glass half full rather than half empty. and maybe that is a bed of the historian in me. -- a bit of the historian and me. if you look back not that far ago, we had a situation where between the 1960's and 1980's, you had authoritarian governments in every country except for three. with a terrific experiences like argentina, where 30,000 disappeared, -- with the horrific experiences like in argentina, where 30,000 people disappeared, and in the 1980's, there open complex in a series of concert -- of countries and central america. the economic situation through the 1980's was devastating for the region in particular. the famous debt crisis. in fact,

them, sheltering them, listening to them, inspiring them and the other, of course, is archbishop romero, perhaps the single emblematic figure of liberation theology who started it is a very very conservative, holdrun conservative catholic priest and because of the suffering of his people in el salvador lead the way toward a new understanding of catholic christianity's, liberated quarter. in the standing on the side and what they called the preferential option for the poor, for those who have been left out and the losers in life. which i still think is most important of all the theological and tendencies of the 20th-century whether catholic for non-catholics. now, just a word or two about pope benedict xvi. i think benedict really has the idea that he needs to circle the wagons and make the catholic church something which is defendable and clear, not suffering any kind of losses around the edges, but you have to remember that benedict came into his role as the pope with a very serious series of crises on his hands. when he looked around from his palace there on the tiber at the catholic

. >> what about romero? >> i think he was adequately warned. and the policies are at that level to notify athletes of the potential risks of positive tests in taking supplements. >> who notifies the athletes? >> the league and hopefully the union. >> what were the facts of the mark mcgwire case? >> i think it came out publicly that he used andro. i do not know he received any sanction of his use for it -- use of it. it was a scheduled three controlled substance. >> he declined to testify before a congressional committee due to self-incrimination, correct? >> that is exactly right. >> do you think congress has the authority to legislate and overruled the court of appeals opinion in the eighth circuit and enforce those laws? >> i think so. >> i will yield to senator hatch. i will observe the time limits. >> it is an interesting hearing like everything else. law enforcement can only do so much. the laws are certainly clear that these are -- these kinds of products are illegal. we wrote them carefully so they would be. it basically comes down to we

. >> what about romero? >> i think he was adequately warned. and the policies are at that level to notify athletes of the potential risks of positive tests in taking supplements. >> who notifies the athletes? >> the league and hopefully the union. >> what were the facts of the mark mcgwire case? >> i think it came out publicly that he used andro. i do not know he received any sanction of his use for it -- use of it. it was a scheduled three controlled substance. >> he declined to testify before a congressional committee due to self-incrimination, correct? >> that is exactly right. >> do you think congress has the authority to legislate and overruled the court of appeals opinion in the eighth circuit and enforce those laws? >> i think so. >> i will yield to senator hatch. i will observe the time limits. >> it is an interesting hearing like everything else. law enforcement can only do so much. the laws are certainly clear that these are -- these kinds of products are illegal. we wrote them carefully so they would be. it basically comes down to we